Taming The Alpha - BBW Paranormal Romance (7 page)

Jax
took the lead, heading down the alley behind the house. Bec was
trotting alongside and out of habit Jax nipped at his shoulder,
reminding him who was alpha male. But Bec stayed shoulder to shoulder
with Jax, growling low in his throat, making it clear he was holding
his own as alpha male of his own pack.

Shaking
his head, he turned, Bec tight to his shoulder. The rest of the
wolves fanned out through the neighborhood, taking different routes,
with different agendas, quickly disappearing. Bec and Jax headed for
the club.

Once
the mouth of the alley came into sight, Jax took the lead, Bec
finally dropping back. He inched his way into the dark alley,
slinking beneath the yellow crime scene tape, already fluttering in
places in tatters on the ground, nose twitching, picking through the
scents. He caught Nikki’s scent and he closed his eyes for a
brief moment.

Bec
was beside him again, whining softly and Jax walked further into the
alley, staying in the shadows. They paused, muzzles raised, both
sifting through the complex scents that swirled around them. Jax
could smell his own scent, his human scent, on the dumpster and where
he’d stood over Nikki. He knew from the roll of Bec’s
eyes that caught it as well.

Both
wolves stopped, hackles raised. The scent of death was thick here,
clinging to the dumpster, and across the alley, rising around them.
Bec was whining loudly now, a high-pitched sound and Jax turned,
growling low in his throat. Bec stopped but continued to look uneasy,
his eyes wide, a ruff of fur standing out around his neck.

Then
it hit Jax. There was another scent here, something oddly out of
place, strangely familiar, but with a undercurrent of danger. It was
almost nauseating in its intensity. He backed away from it, shaking
his head, trying to clear it from his nostrils. Bec looked at Jax,
confused, but then he caught a whiff, backpedalling so fast his
hindquarters slipped on the damp concrete. He scrambled wildly,
gaining his footing and bolting out of the alley.

Jax
stayed a moment longer, his heart racing, trying to understand what
was happening, why this particular scent was so familiar, yet so
alarming. Finally he gave up, shaking his head, turning to leave the
alley, to go find Bec before he did something foolish.

But
then he stopped. From inside the club, through the walls, over the
catcalls of the men, his sensitive ears heard music. Nikki’s
music, the song she’d danced to the first night he’d seen
her. He stopped and waited.

Nikki
was working through her second routine of the night, making her way
to the end of the stage. The crowd was sparse; just a few die-hard
guys who weren’t scared off by the crime scene tape. Or maybe
they were perversely drawn to it. She really didn’t know or
care. Her heart wasn’t in it tonight, even less so than usual.
Jax wasn’t there.

At
the end of her first set, she’d stood up, tossing her hair
back, a big smile on her face. She’d look toward the back of
the club and froze, her smile frozen, still pasted on, her heart
skipping a beat. But she didn’t see him.

She
grabbed her scattered bits of clothing and left the stage. She’d
changed, thankful for once Lori was someplace else besides lounging
in the dressing room. Only Eden was there, sitting on the couch, a
cell phone jammed against her ear. Nikki glanced at her, got a scowl
in return, and turned to her locker, pulling on the first thing that
she found, a lime green tank and tap shorts.

She
was back on the floor, eyes searching the farthest corners, but he
wasn’t there. The place was so empty there seemed to be more
girls than customers. She saw Lori watching her and Nikki took a step
toward her, smiling, but Lori had turned to the guy next to her,
pulling him toward one of the private rooms.

Nikki
sighed, tried to mingle with the remaining customers, but eventually
found herself alone at the bar, nursing her one free drink. Mack was
nowhere in sight and Sam seemed distracted and distant.

The
drink was finished and she was debating about calling it a night when
Mack materialized at her elbow.

“
Hey,
great, you’re still here. Stick around. Eden’s gotta
leave, some kind of emergency and Lori’s asked to go home early
again. You’re it. Do one more set and then you can call it a
night.”

Mack
patted her on the ass and left her standing with her mouth open. Sam
walked down to where she was standing, a drink in his hand.

“
Here,
you look like you could use this. On the house.”

“
Thanks.
Mack has a way of ruining my nights more often than not.” Nikki
took a sip of the drink, sputtering.

“
Jeez,
Sam. Any soda in here at all, or just straight alcohol?”

He
just smiled and moved off to the other end of the bar. Nikki sipped
the drink for a while, the alcohol working its way through her body,
first making her warm and a little fuzzy around the edges, and then
slightly unsteady. She finished the drink and headed back to dress
for her next set.

She
changed back into her leopard print outfit and didn’t care if
someone had already seen her wearing it tonight. And she didn’t
care if her hair was messy or her make-up was fading. At that point,
she was feeling sorry for herself and somewhat used by men, Mack at
the top of her list, Jax a close second.

It
didn’t hit her until she started her routine that she was far
drunker than she realized. She stumbled once, caught herself on the
pole and then stumbled again. And then she decided she’d be
better off on all fours, working her way to the end of the stage.

And
for all the difference it made. There were just a handful of guys
left, clustered around the bar, not even looking at the stage. Nikki
frowned, her eyes drifting over the rest of the empty club, out of
habit searching for Jax. But he still wasn’t there.

As
soon as the music ended, she was up, wobbling slightly as she
collected the pieces of her costume. She was angry and hurt, at Jax
and at Mack, and at pretty much all men.

Lori
was still in the dressing room, in street clothes. She slammed her
locker as Nikki came in.

“
Hey,
I’m sorry about this. I didn’t know Mack was going to
make you stay.”

Nikki
waved her hand. “It’s alright. I need the money. Besides,
what the hell else do I have to do?” She dropped down on the
couch, clutching her costume in her hands.

Lori
watched Nikki for a minute and then opened her locker, pulling out a
robe and holding it out to Nikki. “Here, put this on. You’re
a pathetic drunk and even more pathetic when you’re naked.”

Nikki
caught the teasing tone and smiled, slipping the robe on and pulling
it around her body.

“
Yeah,
I know. I’m just feeling sorry for myself is all.” She
played with the sash of the robe, eyes down cast, the sudden sting of
tears suddenly taking her by surprise. She never cried, hadn’t
cried in ages. But tonight, it all seemed too much.

Lori
perched on the edge of the make-up table. “He wasn’t
here, was he?”

Nikki
looked up. Lori’s voice was low, a small smile on her lips.

“
No.”
Nikki shook her head as a tear slid down her cheek. She quickly
brushed it away.

Lori
swept across the room, sitting down beside Nikki on the couch. “You
really are smitten with him, aren’t you?”

Nikki
sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Smitten. That’s
such an old-fashioned word.” She drew a deep breath.

“
But
you were right. He’s just like all the others. We…he…it
was good. Really good.” She turned to Lori, tears running down
her face.

“
It
was perfect, everything he did and said was the right thing. But
then, in the morning…he was completely different. Like he
wanted me gone, lost all interest and couldn’t get rid of me
fast enough. I don’t know…and then his brother was
there…”

“
Whoa,
wait. You had a threesome? You?” Lori shook her head. “Never
would I have thought that.”

“
No,
not like that. We were…he’d come back to bed and we’d…or
I thought we were going to, maybe he wanted to…anyway, his
brother just walked in.”

“
And
then what?” Lori pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and
settling back on the couch.

“
Nothing.
I mean, they got into an argument about something, and I just got
dressed and left. I wasn’t interested in sticking around and
watching them fight. It was completely awkward.”

“
So
you think… what? He just wanted a one-night stand?”

Nikki
nodded. “Yeah. I think so. Pretty much. I think the morning sex
was more like he thought he had to…not that he wanted to. Like
he owed it to me or something.”

“
Did
he say that?” Lori blew a stream of smoke toward the ceiling.

“
No,
of course not. He said he wanted me…wanted me to stay. But at
first…he didn’t look like he did. Like it wasn’t
the first thing on his mind.” Nikki stood, weaving slightly.
“It’s all confusing. All I know is he’s not here
and I feel like I got used.” She shrugged off Lori’s
robe, pulling on her jeans and t-shirt.

“
For
what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Nikki. I know I give you shit
about him, but I’m sorry anyway.”

Nikki
turned. “I thought you had a date or something. Mack said…”

“
Yeah,
well, I got stood up. The asshole just called, said he didn’t
feel like going out.”

“
Mark?”
Nikki grabbed her purse, shutting her locker.

“
No,
um…this was Steve. Mark is…well, over, I guess.”
She leaned forward, stubbing out her cigarette.

“
Listen,
let’s get the hell out of here. Come over to my apartment. We
haven’t had any girl time in ages. We can make popcorn and stay
up all night.”

Nikki
smiled. “Night’s almost over with already. But yeah, that
sounds like a good idea. I miss you, Lori. I miss hanging out.”

Lori
stood up, stuffing her cigarettes into her purse. “You ready?
Then let’s hit it.”

Nikki
pushed open the door to the alley, Lori right behind her. As soon as
she saw the yellow tape, she stopped, Lori bumping into her from
behind. The last place she wanted to be was in the alley. Her body
went cold, the image of the man with the knife rising up in her mind,
followed by one of Neon and China.

“
Oh,
shit. I don’t want to go this way. Go back inside…”
Both girls turned and reached for the door handle at the same time,
but it slammed shut, apparently locked from the inside.

“
Crap.
Mack’s already locked it for the night. Bastard.” Lori
slammed her hand against the door. “Fine. We’ll just go,
heads down, and get out of the alley. There’s nothing here that
can hurt us, right? No killer hangs around waiting in an alley two
nights in a row. That would just be stupid.”

Nikki
took a step forward, peering into the darkness. “Lori, wait.
There’s something moving by that dumpster.”

A
shadow had detached itself, moving across the alley toward them.
Nikki grabbed Lori’s arm, clutching her tightly. Lori pulled
them back against the door.

“
What
the hell?”

And
then Nikki laughed, her grip on Lori’s arm loosening.

“
It’s
just a dog, Lori. A big one, but just a dog.”

In
the next instant, all hell broke loose.

*

Jax
heard Nikki’s voice on the other side of the door, the one that
Nikki had emerged from last night. He melted back into the shadows
between two dumpsters, watching and waiting. There was another
woman’s voice, indistinct, of no consequence to Jax. His entire
being was focused on Nikki, every sense attuned to her.

There
was movement at his side and Bec was there. Jax growled low and Bec
sank down on his haunches, whining softly. Whatever had spooked him
still bothered him, but he’d mastered enough of his fear to
stand by Jax. At least Jax hoped he had.

After
what seemed like an interminable wait, the door from the club opened
and Nikki emerged, a tall blonde woman close behind her. He watched
as they hesitated and then tried to go back into the club. But the
door closed and was apparently locked and they were left standing in
the dark alley.

Jax
could smell the fear rolling off of Nikki in waves. She must have
known about the murders and combined with what happened the night
before, Jax knew she was terrified. He whined softly, aching to go to
her, helpless in this form to do anything but watch.

Something
else caught his attention. The scent from last night, the strange
scent that had been on Nikki. The tiniest whiff reached his nose and
then it was gone.

He
crouched, waiting for them to move, willing them to leave the alley,
but they stayed by the door, talking in low voices, now tinged with
fear.

And
then, from his right, a shape broke from between two dumpsters,
something larger than him or Bec, but still low to the ground,
wolf-like in shape. And with its movement came a rush of its scent,
the same scent that blanketed the alley, but stronger, more pungent.
Whatever it was had camouflaged itself with the overwhelming
confusion of smells, scents from the murders, from the crush of
people who had been in the alley. And with its own scent. Jax
realized whatever it was must have been there the night before, after
he and Nikki had left.